reaps
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Post by reaps on Dec 9, 2016 21:23:36 GMT
Hi,
I'll try to keep this short. I can write pages upon pages if I'm interested, but I can barely read a paragraph in case any of you are similar.
I meet ADHD symptoms and have my whole life, but my grades were generally OK so I didn't really care. About 2 years ago I had issues in university and since 1 year ago everything got a lot worse. I couldn't concentrate at all, sometimes even in things I liked. I run a business so it's causing problems there too. I went along and printed off multiple guidelines by the NHS and other relevant bodies with guidelines to diagnose ADHD and saw that I meet most symptoms and usually quite high on the scale.
I went to my GP for a diagnosis in May who thought I was exaggerating, after I mentioned university he asked about my grades and I said they're OK and he told me to do yoga instead. I don't listen in classes or lectures and my work isn't of the best quality but I just naturally understand stuff fast.
I saw him again a week ago and he told me he's going to schedule me in for a blood test. I was confused, I said I thought you were going to refer me to a psychiatrist and he said yes, if we can't find a problem in the blood test. I can't find anyone, even friends, who have been asked to do a blood test before for ADHD? I mean, what is he going to find, "yes sorry you have higher than normal blood sugar levels so that's your issue, not ADHD"?
I was like whatever, it's just a blood test. Well, the nurse is ill and they cancelled my appointment and said to get a new one when she's back in February. February!
I have final exams soon and afaik with the NHS I get referred to some useless person first, who waste 3-5 months of my time before referring me to a psychiatrist apparently. I can wait 4 months but not any more than 5 for a diagnosis if I do have ADHD, or at least some kind of advice to help. I can't wait until Feb to get a useless blood test to get a referral which will take a lot of months to even get to a psychiatrist.
The NHS seems to be useless. I'm in the UK btw. What do I do here? I could try to talk to my GP again maybe, or go private, get a diagnosis and then get a NHS psychiatrist and have them deal with my treatment/medication from there.
I looked around this forum and see that St. Nicholas Hospital is often recommended. It's outside of my NHS Trust, though, so I'm guessing it's an 'external' referral? I'm guessing there's no way my GP will refer me to there, he will probably send me to some counsellor to talk about my problems who will just bait me around for 2 more years probably.
I also considered private:https://www.clinical-partners.co.uk/locations/newcastle-private-clinic-psychiatry-psychology-therapy Any experience with these people?
What could you guys advise?
Sorry, a bit longer than I hoped but I appreciate all the advice you folks give me. It's really hurting my life by this point and, assuming it is ADHD, I'm just sick of it now and want to get it sorted.
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Post by marionk on Dec 11, 2016 15:25:27 GMT
Thyroid is one thing, and anaemia is another to test for, both of which can cause some ADHD symptoms. Pretty sure they are routinely checked when anything 'fatigue related' is brought up. It's not an indication that he won't refer you. I didn't have to do one before I went to the specialist, but that's only because I've been having them routinely for years now. In fact one not so long ago did show I was anaemic, and getting that sorted sorted out another issue. February is ridiculous for a blood test, even with the big C in the way. Can you take the scrip to your local hospital? Ours has a walk in 'service' which is very efficient. The fobbing you off in May is a bit more worrying, but he is taking you seriously now, so don't worry, (yet). Meditation is often recommended for ADHD anyway. I don't know if you have to see a general psych before you can get a specialist referral, it wasn't an issue for me as I'd been seeing psych's on and off for years before the penny dropped. Meds are rarely a magic bullet, and actually you're lucky if they much help at all. Don't put off anything in the hope that it will be easier once you're on meds. Most help is working out strategies for things you have problems with, including getting help with them. eta, I forgot to say welcome to the forums. And yes, it all sounds very familiar!
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Post by vagueandrandom on Dec 11, 2016 17:37:12 GMT
Hi! From what I know from here there does seem to be an adult ADHD service in both Newcastle and Sunderland. .(the link was for Newcastle, so I'm guessing it must be somewhere in the NE) . .maybe someone has some local knowledge smogz101 ? annie ?
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reaps
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Post by reaps on Dec 12, 2016 2:07:09 GMT
Hi,
I found a pretty good private specialist in my area who has 32 years of experience in psych. and over 15 years speciality in ADHD and other learning disorders. I think I'll just see him. He's also works in my NHS trust, so hopefully I can get referred under him as a patient if I'm diagnosed with something.
My GP will not refer without a blood test and I've heard waiting lists to see a specialist can be as long as 18 months, from this forum and from friends. Seeing a psych first, which is often a pain and people say you can get misdiagnosed often, and then a specialist which takes more months... I don't have long to wait since I'll just fail my course soon enough.
The cost doesn't really outweigh potential benefits for me. So I'll see how that goes. It shouldn't need a blood test if my GP is referring me a private specialist I'm paying for too...
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Post by vagueandrandom on Dec 12, 2016 9:23:51 GMT
Hi reapsIt looks like you've done your research. .I've no idea why your GP is insisting on a blood test before referral. . If you decide to go for a private assessment, it would be helpful for you to discuss it with your GP, particularly if you think you'd like to try medication as it can be really expensive to get private prescriptions. If your GP agrees to prescribe Under shared care once you've been stabilised, you should be able to get meds on NHS. . .but some GPs won't do this without NHS dx, so it's worth sounding them out first. If you're looking for therapy/coaching it's difficult to access even privately. If you get a dx of ADHD you may be able to access help and accommodations from your Uni for studying and exams. I didn't have to wait too long for assessment in London, but felt I had to go privately when I moved to an area without a service. It seems that I don't respond to meds so I'm still trying to get funding to a specialist ADHD service. . .it's already been a year and even if I get it, I'll be put on another waiting list, so I understand your frustration . . . I'm campaigning to get any kind of service in my area ATM. . Good luck!
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reaps
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Post by reaps on Dec 13, 2016 0:17:28 GMT
I don't mind the blood test. It's just the nurse is ill, apparently, and he can't arrange for the test until mid-Jan to Feb. + waiting list time... I'll probably be waiting over 6 months from today (since he won't refer until Feb, in that case) to even see a psych who probably isn't a specialist in a certain area anyway. He'll just refer me to someone else, from my understanding of the NHS, and that'll add more months onto the list.
That's quite some time to wait, tbh.
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Post by marionk on Dec 13, 2016 16:50:48 GMT
If you get the scrip for the tests off your GP, will you be able to take it to the local hospital and get it done there? The samples will almost certainly be sent there for testing anyway.
You will probably need a GP referral to see a private psych, but the chances are they will send you for a blood test before they prescribe you anything too.
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Post by smogz101 on Dec 13, 2016 19:54:54 GMT
Hi reaps where are you from? Theres an adult ADHD team for teesside (TEWV NHS trust) who have been brilliant with me. The whole process for me took a few months for diagnosis and I held off medication initially but decided to give it a go a month or so after. I had a good GP who had no problem referring me, but I had to firstly see the general adult mental health team first who then passed me on to the ADHD team. It's always been clear I have ADHD but have always managed to get by through the skin of my teeth. It wasn't until I went to uni to do PE that I actually started doing well academically... because it was something i was good at. I wonder how many people have been so put off education that the thought of uni seems like hell ... Im currently doing a masters in occupational therapy and although some aspects have been incredibly difficult, Its also been the best thing I've ever done. I do like learning when its something I'm really interested/passionate about! But there are aspects of study that just do not work when you have ADHD and that's where the support really is needed. Are you in your final year? I've had a nightmare recently trying to do transcribing, its taken me 10x longer everyone so have had to get an extension. Just because your at uni shouldn't be a reason to say you don't have ADHD... yes there are probably fewer of us, but it's not impossible! I wouldnt worry so much about the blood test... like the others have said they're probably ruling stuff out that can cause ADHD like symptoms... its actually good he's being thorough, but I can see your dilemma with it delaying things, Feb is a piss take imo. I wonder if you asked to be referred to the right people whilst your waiting for your blood test results that would be a compromise? At least the ball would be rolling and if they did find anything unusual in your bloods they could cancel the referral? I completely understand where your coming from with uni. You need to speak to the disability services and explain the situation... they might be able to put some interim measures in place for you in the meantime... I'm not sure what they have the power to do without a formal diagnosis but it might be worth asking about. Things like a separate room would even help? I've been really lucky with how quick and good the ADHD team have been here, some people have to wait years and thats if they have made it past the GP
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Post by conceptuallycurious on Dec 22, 2016 12:42:13 GMT
I had to have those blood tests too. Thinks like anemia and hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) can mimic ADHD symptoms (and thyroid problems among other conditions), so it's understandable they'd want to rule them out and most likely stabilise them first. In addition, they'll likely be more cautious when prescribing stimulants to someone with diabetes.
Forgive me for being blunt, the chances of you getting a diagnosis in time for your university lectures AND reaching a stable dose of medication in that time is very slim, even if you did go privately. It takes time for your dose to be increased, especially if you have a psychiatrist (such as mine) who is very wary about the effects of stimulants given another tablet I take and since your sugar levels are high it's quite likely they'd be more cautious.
That said, make sure you ask your student SpLD service - mine offer free testing for ADHD among other learning difficulties using private providers if you have symptoms causing concern (otherwise you can book an assessment through them for £400). Mine don't widely advertise it, so I only found out AFTER I took my dx to them and mentioned that it had taken ages.
Print a copy of the NICE guidelines and decline referral to a counselor. Be wary that if they think it's 'too complex' that you may get referred for further testing elsewhere.
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Post by conceptuallycurious on Dec 22, 2016 12:44:46 GMT
Hi reaps where are you from? Theres an adult ADHD team for teesside (TEWV NHS trust) who have been brilliant with me. The whole process for me took a few months for diagnosis and I held off medication initially but decided to give it a go a month or so after. I had a good GP who had no problem referring me, but I had to firstly see the general adult mental health team first who then passed me on to the ADHD team. It's always been clear I have ADHD but have always managed to get by through the skin of my teeth. It wasn't until I went to uni to do PE that I actually started doing well academically... because it was something i was good at. I wonder how many people have been so put off education that the thought of uni seems like hell ... Im currently doing a masters in occupational therapy and although some aspects have been incredibly difficult, Its also been the best thing I've ever done. I do like learning when its something I'm really interested/passionate about! But there are aspects of study that just do not work when you have ADHD and that's where the support really is needed. Are you in your final year? I've had a nightmare recently trying to do transcribing, its taken me 10x longer everyone so have had to get an extension. Just because your at uni shouldn't be a reason to say you don't have ADHD... yes there are probably fewer of us, but it's not impossible! I wouldnt worry so much about the blood test... like the others have said they're probably ruling stuff out that can cause ADHD like symptoms... its actually good he's being thorough, but I can see your dilemma with it delaying things, Feb is a piss take imo. I wonder if you asked to be referred to the right people whilst your waiting for your blood test results that would be a compromise? At least the ball would be rolling and if they did find anything unusual in your bloods they could cancel the referral? I completely understand where your coming from with uni. You need to speak to the disability services and explain the situation... they might be able to put some interim measures in place for you in the meantime... I'm not sure what they have the power to do without a formal diagnosis but it might be worth asking about. Things like a separate room would even help? I've been really lucky with how quick and good the ADHD team have been here, some people have to wait years and thats if they have made it past the GP The uni might be able to do something if they can get a letter from the GP stating the difficulties they have even without dx. If you've got any more transcription to be done, your university should have a transcription service in the disability office. I had all my dissertation interviews transcribed (though I do also have a hearing loss).
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amelia
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Post by amelia on Feb 5, 2017 12:43:37 GMT
What I would do is ask the GP to put you on the waiting list while you wait for the bloods. Tell him if something physical is found to be wrong with you then he can take you off, but if it isn't it will prevent you having to wait 18 months AFTER the results of the tests. Win-win.
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